Conflicts of interest: why Stanislas Guerini will not take care of subjects related to Google

The change is not big, but it is important.

According to a decree published this Tuesday in the Official Journal, Stanislas Guerini, the new Minister of Transformation and Public Service, sees his powers slightly reduced.

The new Minister of Transformation and the Public Service, Stanislas Guérini, does not have the right to manage files concerning Alphabet (Google) as well as "cloud hosting of state data".

The reason ?

His wife works for Google Cloud France.

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— Nicolas Berrod (@nicolasberrod) June 8, 2022

From now on, he will no longer be in charge of acts “relating to Alphabet Inc. and its subsidiaries as well as acts relating to cloud hosting (

) of State data”.

Alphabet Inc. is a group of former companies that belonged to Google.

The Prime Minister recovers the attribution

The reason for this change?

The wife of the new minister works at Google Cloud France, which places Stanislas Guerini in a conflict of interest situation.

Marie-Luce Conrard indeed holds the position of “Director of Strategy and Operations, excluding the public sector”, according to information published on her LinkedIn account.

As the text specifies, it is now the Prime Minister who will be in charge of everything related to Alphabet Inc. and the cloud gathering state data.

It is also now prohibited for the Minister of Transformation and the Public Service “to give instructions to the administrations placed under his authority or at his disposal” on these subjects.

Read also“The best kept secret of the Republic”: how future ministers are screened

However, before they are appointed to the government, potential ministers are screened.

Their file is notably examined by the High Authority for the transparency of public life (HATVP).

Among the criteria observed, the regularity of their situation vis-à-vis the tax authorities, but also… conflicts of interest.

However, the employer of the wife of Stanislas Guerini is well specified on the declaration of the minister, and this at least since April according to our research.